Member expulsion and field of membership expansion bills moving through Congress
Published by: Jared Weiser
March 23, 2022 | Political Action
Telling decision-makers your credit union’s story, like thousands of credit union leaders did during the 2022 CUNA GAC, can move the advocacy needle in a gridlocked Congress to better serve Ohio credit unions and 3.1 million members. That proof manifested with the recently enacted Credit Union Governance Modernization Act, which modernizes the member expulsion process for federally chartered credit unions. Previously, a full membership vote was required to oust an unruly member. These changes empower federally chartered executive teams and boards to make the best decision possible to protect staff and their credit union and its members.
Securing incremental changes through Congress leads to the potential for more impactful legislation, like recently introduced H.R. 7003, the Expanding Financial Access for Underserved Communities Act. H.R. 7003 proposes several field of membership expansion opportunities for federally chartered credit unions into underserved communities. The bill also exempts any member business loan made within an underserved area from the member business lending cap, regardless of charter type. The League and CUNA will continue garnering bipartisan support for H.R. 7003 as it is considered by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.
Feel free to reach out to Legislative Affairs Director Jared Weiser if you have any questions or would like to engage Congress on these bills within the legislative process.
